My learning experience these last two weeks has been very hands-on. I really like that because I am a visual learner, and, maybe it is my stubbornness at times, but I tend to learn things the hands-on way.
This quarter, Avery is having its inter-house party, called “Interhouse.” For Interhouse (which every house holds throughout the year), the house builds a party, from creating the dance platform to cooking to painting murals. Everything falls into a central theme, which have ranged from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” to “Winter Wonderland”; this year’s theme is “Beyond Candyland,” which is a mix of Candyland and Willy Wonka but glow-in-the-dark. We freshmen are expected to contribute a lot to Interhouse because we still are on pass-fail, and the upperclassmen “wish to instill the lessons of time management and other practical skills like using a drill” while they are still around. These last two weeks have been crazy with building the 20 platform parts, going through safety, and starting painting. And to think that Interhouse is in less than a week (on 2/17/2012)! I helped out with drilling on the legs of the platforms and some painting (and scrubbing paint off the tiles so that Caltech Housing doesn’t throw a fit) because I was pretty free after midterms. I can honestly say my woodwork skills have dramatically increased. Plus, during Interhouse I am making cotton candy, as I have experience with making cotton candy for the masses <read: kindergarteners to high schoolers on a sticky summer day>. College students shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
Christine, Alina, and Winnie are painting the platform while Alex and Patrick are fixing the railings.
The rainbow road 12 hours before its demise from rain. :(
Aside from Interhouse preparation, my classes have been really hands-on. We started electricity and magnetism in physics, and our professor likes to show demos to visualize the concepts like electric fields (which got into vector fields).
Professor Spiropulu taking the aid of two frosh to show some electric field demos.
For many classes at Caltech, you are introduced to math concepts that you don’t cover until later. For example, in my pizza class last quarter, several professors work with applying Fourier transforms to areas like error estimation, communication, and graphic arts. The first time I heard this concept, I had no idea what it was (nor did anyone else except two freshmen in the pizza class). Therefore, I went to Wikipedia and read as much as I could before I could get a general idea of what Fourier transforms were. This quarter, when a professor in my electrical engineering pizza class started talking about the use of Fourier transforms in biology, I could pick up on the general techniques and data analysis he used. In the core physics classes, we cover double integrals, the gradient vector, divergence, and curl all in first and second term before we get into multivariable and vector calculus (in third term, as math at Caltech is slightly unconventional because we do linear algebra before multivariable). In chemistry we had a quiz question on eigenfunctions and eigenvalues in regards to Schrödinger equation, and, based on the definitions given to us, we had to figure out the kinetic energy of protons. You are not expected to know that much math right when you enter Caltech, but professors give you practical examples to introduce you to these concepts before you formally learn about them, so you need to be able to grasp concepts pretty fast.
My physics lab class is going pretty well, as the circuits are becoming increasingly more complex, and my soldering skills are improving (with a few burns along the way). I finally soldered my transformer to a simple breadboard with a bridge rectifier and capacitor. However, while working with capacitors and transformers, I managed to blow a few fuses. :|
After some careful soldering, my transformer connected to a rectifier and capacitor for more complex uses.
But, aside from the physics, our chemistry professor this quarter has a TA do demonstrations before lecture. I snapped a few pictures to show you some.
The glass box, a desiccator, was used along with a vacuum to enlarge an already Jumbo marshmallow and then mutilate its signature shape. All the balloons in the foreground fit into the black chest because of liquid nitrogen, a regular source of entertainment for many Caltech students.
Now, I have to warn you about the next few pictures (and video). In light of exploding whales (video at the end of the blog), our demo TA showed us another possible way to decay carcasses by using acids and bases. The victims: two double-doubles from In’N’Out <GASP!...and I am vegetarian>. Californians and the experienced non-Californians were extremely upset with this demo.
The TA committing his heinous act. Clearly he is not from California.
One burger in a high concentration of HCL...nothing changed from the beginning, but...
The burger in 6M NaOH became a serious casualty. The exploding whale is below.
Speaking of food, there is a robot that runs through Chandler Café from 12 to 1 (the peak hours of business) every day. I forgot the exact study it was for, but it is quite entertaining for a robot with a straw hat to play Nyan Cat.
Quote of the day: Following the demonstration from chemistry lecture, the TA explained to us how dead bodies are disposed of if cremation is not an option, as a strong base will eat up flesh but not the bones while acid will take a longer time but eat up everything. However, he did explain that a pork chop takes 10 minutes to disintegrate in piranha solution (sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide). So, while eating lunch immediately following chemistry lecture, a friend says, “In chemistry lecture, I learned how to make my mafia a success if my Caltech degree fails to get me anywhere.”
